Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as Nigerian president just hours after Umaru Yar'Adua dies aged 58

Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in today as the president of Nigeria,
Africa's most populous nation, just hours after the death of the
oil-rich country's elected leader whose long illness had sparked a
leadership crisis.

Jonathan put on a sash bearing the green, yellow and white colours
of Nigeria just after 9am, signifying he had formally taken over for
President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Yar'Adua, who had long suffered from kidney ailments and was
recently hospitalised in Saudi Arabia because of heart inflammation,
died at 9pm last night after apparently succumbing to his ill health.

Temporary leader: Jonathan will now serve as president until next year's vote, likely to be held by April 2011

Yar'Adua's death came almost three months after Jonathan had assumed
control of Nigeria as acting president and less than a year away from
the next presidential elections in a country once plagued by military
coups.

Jonathan will now serve as president until next year's
vote, likely to be held by April 2011. He also will be able to select a
vice president to serve underneath him, subject to Senate approval.

In
a brief address, Jonathan promised that his administration would focus
on good governance during its short tenure, focusing especially on
electoral reform and the fight against corruption.

'One of the true tests will be that all votes count and are counted in our upcoming presidential election,' he said.

Departed: The body of Yar'Adua is brought past an honour guard, to be transported for burial in his home state of Katsina later today

Passed away: Yar'Adua had long suffered from kidney ailments

An
unwritten power-sharing agreement within Nigeria's ruling party calls
for the presidency to alternate between Nigeria's Christians and
Muslims. Yar'Adua, a Muslim, was still in his first four-year term
though.

Jonathan also said today that peace in the Niger Delta,
home to the country's oil industry, remains a priority. Attacks by
militants there last year crippled oil production.

Yar'Adua had tried to peacefully end the insurgency but those efforts frayed due to his increasing illness.

Jonathan said Yar'Adua left a 'profound legacy' for him to follow.

'He was not just a boss, but a good friend and a brother,' Jonathan said.

Jonathan,
a quiet marine biologist fond of bowler hats, wore the traditional
black clothes of the Niger Delta region to his inauguration. He
remained seated during Muslim prayers offered on Yar'Adua's behalf, but
stood for a Christian invocation.

Yar'Adua is to be buried before sundown today in his home state of Katsina.

He
had gone to a Saudi Arabian hospital on November 24 to receive
treatment for what officials described as a severe case of
pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart.

He failed to formally transfer his powers to Jonathan, sparking a constitutional crisis in Nigeria, home to 150million people.

Jonathan assumed the presidency on February 9 after a vote by the National Assembly while Yar'Adua was still in Saudi Arabia.

Lawmakers
left open the possibility for Yar'Adua to regain power if he returned
to the country in good health. He returned on February 24 but never
reappeared in public and did not assume power again.